Falling Gliders
by iAir Nomad
Summary: Back then when everything was peaceful, before the war, little Aang discovers both the joy and the chaos that can build up when first trying to learn... gliding! :D


_When little Aang first tried learning how to use his Air Glider, he was full of enthusiasm. He had waited for this moment for the longest time in his young life, and now his wish was finally getting granted._

_But, unfortunately, the universe had decided other plans for his experience._

_It turned out to be a disaster; a turn for the worse. Aang's mentor, Gyatso, went behind Aang as the little monk held tightly onto the glider above his head. Gyatso took his hands and gently moved them up to their proper positions. "If you hold it wrong, it won't work," he had told him. Aang gulped. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this quite yet now. He was having second thoughts as he looked straight into the empty space not too far out in front of him. _

"_Gyatso?"  
_

"_Hmm?"  
_

"_I'm not ready."  
_

_But Gyatso, much to Aang's dismay, only laughed. "Of course you are, Aang. If you want to be a true airbender, you have to let go of fear." _

_Aang gulped again, but repeated Gyatso's last sentence over and over again in his head like a mantra. _

"_Aang," The older monk gently pressed, "there is absolutely nothing you need to be afraid of. As long as you've got a tight grip on the glider, you will be just fine. I'll guide you through it, I'll be up there with you." He smiled warmly towards his student, whom he cared so much about. Aang tried to smile back, but it was forced._

"_Okay. You ready?" _

_Aang nervously nodded, and Gyatso began pushing him towards the edge. Aang barely jumped off as he took flight, and he screamed as his grip on the glider already began to loosen. Soon, he was holding onto it with only one hand. "GYATSO!" He cried.  
_

_As if on cue, Gyatso appeared in the skies next to the younger Airbender. "Aang, hold onto the glider with both hands!"  
_

"_I CAN'T!" _

"_The word 'can't' shouldn't even be part of your vocabulary. Never say that. Just reach up and hold onto the glider with both hands. Trust your element, Aang!" Gyatso called out loudly, for the wind was loud in their ears._

_Aang tried taking deep breaths. "Trust your element, Aang, trust your element!" he chanted to himself. Finally, his other little shaky hand reached up and grabbed onto the glider. Aang tried pulling himself up so his legs would hang on, as well, so he was in full balance, but failed. The wind began pushing on the glider in such a way that it made the glider spin and turn in different directions uncontrollably. _

"_WATCH OUT!" Aang screamed as loud as he could to the other monks who were watching the amusing scene, but began to panic as Aang was coming in their general direction. _

_The other monks turned and tried speeding off as Aang and his glider only drew nearer and soon crashed into the group. "SORRY!" The young monk panicked as he jumped off some of the monks' bald heads with his dirty boots. The glider was still speeding every which way, towards the large brick wall of the Southern Air Temple, and the group of monks took a hold of Aang's boots and dragged him down. _

_Gyatso, still up in the air but as opposed to his student, in control of the wind and the glider, watched as all the monks chipped in to help Aang down. He began to laugh hysterically, for the scene was too ridiculous to take seriously. Aang was one of the most clumsy airbenders he had ever trained!  
_

"_OOF!" All of the airbenders had crashed into the wall with a loud BOOM._

_"What is going on?" Pasang, the lead monk of the Air Temple cried as he ran out of the temple. _

"_Sorry to ruin your meditation, Pasang." Aang said quickly after recovering while the other monks in the dog-pile were still huffing and groaning and rubbing their heads while also glaring at Aang. _

_Pasang shook his head and heard a glider close, and turned in the direction of Gyatso who had just landed. He bowed to the lead monk. "My apologies, Pasang. I am still trying to help our little Aang train with the glider." _

"_I believe after the events that have occurred today, that is quite enough training with the glider." Pasang frowned._

_Aang began frowning, too. He felt quite terrible for all the chaos he had caused upon everyone. "I'm sorry, Pasang… sorry…" He said quietly as Pasang began making his way back into the temple, not hearing him._

"_Pai Sho?" Gyatso offered to little Aang as he reached out his hand, and Aang took it. It took some effort and pulling to get him out of the doggy-pile, but Aang managed to escape. He brushed the dirt off.  
_

"_I'm sorry for all the mess I've caused," The boy concluded to his peers and adult friends as he bowed politely. "It was an accident. I'll try my very best to not cause this again." _

_An adult monk got himself out of the pile and brushed off his robes as well, before turning to little Aang, kneeling down to his size, smiling as he pet Aang's bald head and cheeks. "Don't worry about it, it was fun while it lasted. Next time, though, we'll be watching from the rooftops instead." _

"Aang?" A gentle voice murmured into the boy's ear, catching his attention, bringing him back to reality. "You okay?"

Aang laughed at the young waterbender, his new girlfriend. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about some memories." 

Katara smiled. "Of what?"

Aang did not reply for a minute. Instead of answering her question, he turned to her again with a smirk and said: "How would you like to try riding that glider again?"

**Hahaha. Just a random, fun idea I came up with today while reading some Airbender fanfiction. They're so inspiring! Hope you guys enjoyed this, R&R!**


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